


6x05: On the Count of Three

by nightbirdrises



Series: S6 Reaction Drabbles [4]
Category: Glee
Genre: M/M, Reaction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-01
Updated: 2015-02-01
Packaged: 2018-03-10 01:11:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3271208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightbirdrises/pseuds/nightbirdrises
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Strange how a kiss that was never supposed to happen leads to so much - which doesn't seem like a good thing. At first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	6x05: On the Count of Three

**Author's Note:**

> As usual, other reaction fics [here](http://princehummel.tumblr.com/tagged/reaction-fic). This one includes the main spoiler of 6x08, so if you don't want to know/don't already know, then you should probably avoid reading. No specifics are in here, though!

One.

 

The next morning, Kurt wakes with his heart racing, his head pounding, not with pain but with what feels like pulses of adrenaline. He sits up and looks around, momentarily worried that the monster he’d believed in as a five year-old actually exists and that that’s the reason why he’d woken so suddenly. But nothing appears to be out of the ordinary; no doors are left ajar and there’s no shadowy mass of darkness underneath his bed. Yes, he checked.

So it must have been a dream. The problem is, he can’t remember what he’d been dreaming about to save his life. With his brows furrowed in thought, Kurt finds he can at least remember a vague feeling of running towards something, and the image of a street lined with normal-looking houses. He can’t even begin to guess what the dream was about with so little information, however, so he pushes it aside. What he really needs to be worried about is how he’s going to deal with the events of the past two days.

His first thought is that it had all been a dream, the one that’s left him in this state. It’s ridiculous enough to be exactly that, except none of it has that blurry, surreal quality that dreams have when recalled after the fact. It’s quite the opposite, actually - he remembers with crystalline clarity the dim lighting of the non-elevator, the sight of Blaine shedding his bow tie out of the corner of his eye as Kurt tried not to look while taking off some of his own layers, the hours of searching for a way out followed by many more hours of merely accepting that they were stuck and passing the time as best they could.

And, well, some other things, too. Blaine sprawled on his back as he took his turn sleeping on that unforgiving floor - really, if Sue was going to put them in that situation, she should at least have provided pillows - and the soft snoring sound he makes when he’s not sleeping on a bed. Kurt remembers it from the few times Blaine slept on the couch in the last few weeks before their relationship shattered. Blaine doesn’t know it, but Kurt could never sleep well during those nights and would walk out to the living room to ask if he would please come to bed. He never had the nerve to do it, though, thinking it would only lead to more friction between them. And not the good, naked kind.

Kurt rubs his eyes. Avoids the elephant in the room with him and his thoughts. Gets out of bed and picks out something to wear for the day, making sure to be extra picky so the task distracts him as much as possible. It’s not enough.

God. That  _kiss_. That meaningless, necessary, never-to-be-mentioned-ever-again kiss. He has to pretend it never happened because what else can he do? Blaine’s dating someone else,  _living with_  someone else, and he himself is… sort of dating someone. It may have been the only way to get out of that elevator, but the situation would be so absurd in the retelling that to try explaining it would probably result in skeptic uneasiness.

But it was, in the moment, unbearably perfect. From the second he leaned in, eyes slipping shut as he sensed Blaine doing the same, to the second he noticed (after tearing his gaze away with considerable effort) that the doors had finally opened… nothing and no one else existed. Not the creepy doll he’d later dubbed “Jigsue,” not Dave or Walter, not even the Warblers or the New Directions. It was a moment of absolute bliss, of slowly simmering heat that had nothing to do with the temperature, of feeling like the rest of the world has evaporated around them but it doesn’t matter because it’s Blaine’s lips (his tongue, his hand, his very  _presence_ ) pressed against, locked between his, and there’s nothing in the mundane world that compares. That kind of moment.

 _"Doesn’t mean anything," my ass._ That’s exactly the problem, isn’t it? It meant everything, but it came too late. The reason it’s ultimately meaningless isn’t because it was the only way out of the elevator, but because they’re supposed to be moving on for good. Therefore, it can’t happen again. If it served any purpose whatsoever aside from escape, it served as a painful reminder of all that he cast aside in the name of what he thought was logic, but now seems more like nothing but fear of what they were becoming, an act of self-sabotage.

Kurt checks his reflection in the bathroom mirror once dressed and presentable. Blue feels like a good color for today, he thinks. Not because he feels particularly blue (if he had to pick a color to match his emotional state, it would be some clashing abomination of hues) but because he feels comfortable in it. It can be bright or subdued or even both, depending on how he wants to present himself to the world that day.

His phone buzzes when he gets to the kitchen and he pulls it out, breath catching for a split-second at the name on the screen.

 

 **From: Blaine  
** Meet me at the Lima Bean to talk? I’ll buy.

 

Of course. They have to talk about this; yesterday Blaine mentioned that they should confront Sue in order to put an end to her mischief. Kurt agrees - they can’t let her go on like this, treating them like toys to be manipulated. It’s the more serious, more ridiculous version making the Ken and Blaine Barbie dolls kiss. It’s inexcusable, unjustifiable, and it’s also kidnapping. All emotions aside, something has to be done.

 

 **To: Blaine  
** Sure. Meet you in 10?

 

 **To: Blaine  
** P.S. I’m buying this time.

 

Kurt turns on his heel and looks for his coat and keys. The house is empty, both his dad and Carole being at work, and eerily quiet. Usually the quiet is relaxing, but right now it leaves too much room to think.

 

 **From: Blaine  
** Works for me, see you then. And P.S. we’ll see about that ;)

 

Blaine and his stupidly cute winky faces. Kurt sighs and hurries out to the car he’s been driving since he got home, a tiny little thing that has definitely seen better days. It had been left with his dad at the garage, and since he has no idea how long he’ll be home, he’d happily taken it in as his own.

Once in the driver’s seat, Kurt pauses with the key in the ignition, just about to turn it. They’re going to talk, and it’s going to be about how it’s definitely better just to be friends. That’s what Kurt’s going to say, anyway. The kiss had hurt too much - if there was any hope of it leading to more, he thinks he’d have a different opinion. However, the current circumstances are just… all wrong.

"On three," he mutters to himself, staring at the key. "One…"

 

Two.

 

Blaine adjusts his bow tie in the rearview mirror once he has the car started. He feels more fidgety than usual, and he’s not about to pretend he doesn’t know why. It’s Kurt. Not just the kiss - which is confusing enough in itself - but the time spent together, forced though it was. He feels like he should be way more uncomfortable with what happened, but he mostly just feels… like a mess, to put it simply.

For the first time in a while, Blaine doesn’t turn on the radio as he drives out of the tiny parking lot. Maybe it’s guaranteed to hurt a little, but he needs his mind clear to let himself think through his own thoughts before he has to meet Kurt and come up with something to say that isn’t “I still love you I don’t know if I forgive you just yet but god do I love you please kiss me again.”

That would be a mistake and he knows it. He’s not supposed to be thinking like this, he’s supposed to be  _getting over_  Kurt. He’d thought he’d been doing so well, too, at least for the most part.

Blaine remembers clearly the guilt he’d felt at mentioning Dave, even if he logically shouldn’t have felt guilty at all. Kurt knows full well that he’s in a fairly serious relationship. But the passing mention had hurt him, and Blaine never wants to be the person who hurts Kurt. Funny how he sometimes feels like he’s the one who hurts him the most.

But the hurt goes both ways, he thinks. Few people have hurt him the way that Kurt has, time and again. And the last time had been the worst - it had left Blaine feeling like his love for Kurt wasn’t worth a dime. Like it had all been thrown back in his face with a “thanks, but no thanks.”

The months afterwards had been beyond difficult. But now… he’s finally in a good place, and  _this_  happens. It could very well mean an unraveling of everything he’s worked to achieve, or it could mean exactly what they’d promised: nothing.

Like they could ever share a kiss that means nothing. That’s what scares him. Has he cheated again? He’d told Kurt that it didn’t mean anything the last time he was with someone else. But this is different - they’d been trapped, literally. Forced into it. It should make him feel uncomfortable, and it does, but not as much as he thinks it should.

Well, this is why he’s going to talk to Kurt, right? They’re going to clear up their shaken boundaries. Draw the lines in the sand that have been washed away against their will. Decide exactly how they’re going to face Sue about all of this - even if he’s confused about how he feels, what she did was fundamentally wrong.

But…

God.

He’d missed the way Kurt’s lips feel on his. The way his hands feel on his body, sure and steady. He’d missed their conversation, had even missed the unavoidable bickering. His first thought after the kiss had just been  _more_. More, however, is impossible. Blaine needs to act as though nothing actually happened between them. Not the kiss itself, but the _everything else_  of it. The stuff he’d promised wouldn’t exist.

He reaches an unbearably long red light and turns the radio on, unwilling to continue the whole thinking thing. It should be simple: they kissed because they had to. It wasn’t supposed to be romantic, it was supposed to be a last-ditch effort to get out of the elevator (and away from that terrifying Sue-doll thing - there’s a reason he didn’t open his eyes once when they watched Saw). Frankly, the situation was extremely illegal on Sue’s part and they could get the police involved. Simple.

Then why the  _hell_  is he so confused?

Because it’s Kurt.

If he had to kiss anyone else in this world like that, it would mean nothing the way it was supposed to. Is a first love supposed to be that devastating after it’s over? Maybe only if that first love is Kurt Hummel.

_It must have been love—_

Blaine changes the station. He doesn’t have time to listen to any more music, though; he pulls into the Lima Bean parking lot seconds later and parks near one of the building’s windows. His eyes are drawn inside, right to where Kurt’s sitting at one of the small, round tables, his back to Blaine. On the table are two cups of coffee (one in Kurt’s hand, one just barely in sight on the other side), which makes Blaine smile a little. So much for buying.

He stops the car, takes longer than normal to get out and lock the doors, pretending to check the back seat for something he may have forgotten. Too soon, he’s at the door of the Lima Bean and bracing himself for the only thing he can possibly expect: the kiss truly meant nothing, they’re better as friends, and Sue needs to be stopped. He shouldn’t have to brace himself for any of that after all this time apart, but apparently… well, there’d been a moment. But it’s not a moment he can allow himself to embrace. Under different circumstances, perhaps… but not these.

"Okay," Blaine mutters to himself. He straightens up, puts his hand on the door.  _On three._ “One… two…”

 

Three.

 

Kurt moves his hand to wipe his eyes - again - but Blaine’s quick to give him a handkerchief.

"You and your… your  _words_ ,” Kurt whispers, grinning as he dabs his cheeks. He thinks he should be listening to Brittany and Santana going through their vows just behind him, but all he can or wants to see right now is Blaine. “I knew you’d make me cry, but I didn’t plan for all of  _that_.”

"Like you didn’t make me tear up, too," Blaine says. He’s beaming, his eyes indeed shining more than usual, and Kurt can’t help but look down at their hands. It feels good to be wearing a ring again. A little scary, but good. "Looks like you’ve accomplished your mission, huh?"

"My mission?"

"You told me that you came home to win me back."

"Oh, yeah. First I wanted your forgiveness—"

"Which you have," Blaine says, as if making sure Kurt knows it.

"And then I was going to win your heart back," Kurt finishes. "I have to say, none of it went as planned. I certainly didn’t expect to get hitched."

"And yet, here we are."

"Here we are," Kurt echoes, watching as Blaine’s gaze flits away for a brief moment, probably to Burt. "Having our own ‘big fat gay wedding.’"

Blaine snorts his laughter, drawing a few eyes from the audience. His expression turns serious, though, and he leans in slightly. “I know it’s not any of the weddings you or I planned, but…”

"I told you," Kurt says, firmly but gently, "as long as you’re the one I’m marrying, how it happens doesn’t matter to me. We can save my childhood Power Ranger wedding ideas for when we plan our children’s weddings."

Blaine smiles, radiant. “Deal.”

"You think we can do this, right? We’re not completely insane?" Kurt asks, attempting not to look as worried about this subject as he feels. Blaine, of course, knows, and his gaze softens. "I know we’ve grown a lot since last time, and I know you’ve miraculously forgiven me, but I want to know that you’re as sure about us as I am. Because if you’re not, then we’re just asking for trouble by doing this."

"We’ve already said our vows," Blaine points out. Kurt raises an eyebrow, searching for more. "You’ve heard the saying ‘third time’s the charm,’ right?" Kurt nods. "I think, in spite of everything that has ever gone wrong with us, that we can do it this time. Kurt, I just- I love you, I haven’t stopped since the beginning. We’ve faced our problems and, yeah, they beat us down a bit, but we’re on top now, and we know ourselves and each other a little better because of it."

"You don’t think you could be happier with someone else?"

Blaine gives him a wry smile. “No. I think it could be easier with someone else, and it’s not like I’d be  _unhappy_ , but…” He trails off, but Kurt understands. He and Blaine aren’t easy, but the highs are more than worth the lows. Even at their most neutral, it’s worth it.

"Yeah."

This is their moment, he thinks. It couldn’t come along earlier because everything was wrong then, and it had hurt to realize it, but finally everything feels right again. No one is forcing this. No one is telling them that they must get married  _or else_. This is them agreeing to take on the world together once more, and hopefully this time it’ll stick.

Kurt imagines it will. Not because he thinks they’ve solved all their problems, but because he has learned more about how to handle them. They’ll have to keep on learning for it to work, of course - but this is a start.

This means everything, and the best part? They don’t have to tell themselves it doesn’t, or can’t.

A sharp whistle cuts between them and they jump, blushing at the laughter in the room. Kurt turns his head to see Burt looking at them, near to tears. “Oh, Dad, don’t—”

"Forget about me, I’ve got tissues in my pocket. You two gonna kiss or what?"

Blaine’s hands squeeze and Kurt looks back at him, eyes wide. “Oh my god, this is it.”

Smiling, Blaine nods, says in a low voice, “Yeah. On three?”

"On three," Kurt agrees. He slides his hands up Blaine’s arms, careful not to wrinkle the fabric, and says, "One."

Blaine quickly whispers, “Thank you for coming back for me,” then leans in with his hands on Kurt’s waist, closing his eyes. Kurt follows suit, his hands on Blaine’s shoulders. “Two.”

"Three" is whispered between their brushing lips, and Kurt can’t tell if he said it or Blaine did - the word is easily eclipsed by the kiss: slow, sweet, and bone-deep in such a way that Kurt feels his entire being melting into Blaine, and he wonders later how he even stayed on his feet. Blaine confesses the same, and they conclude that they must have been supporting each other.

In the moment, however, they’re the only two people in the world, the beating of their hearts overwhelming the applause of those watching them and their friends. Lips sliding, noses brushing against cheeks, hands gripping, soft breaths loud in each other’s ears.

The third time’s the charm, indeed.


End file.
